Phos-free
- Thread starter TomAtlanta
- Start date
Re: Can Phos-free be used in lieu of shock?
Phos-Free removes phosphates from the water. If you get the phosphate level low enough, algae usually can't grow as it has nothing to eat. However there are forms of phosphate that are not removed by phos-free, so that is not guaranteed. Phosphate remover tends to cloud up the water. Ideally this clears up quickly, but for some people it can stay cloudy for days. Also, some areas add phosphates to the tap water, which can cause phosphate levels so high that getting the phosphate level low enough is impractical.
Of course algae isn't the only reason you need chlorine, as bacteria and viruses can do just fine even at extremely low phosphate levels. So you have to have chlorine anyway. If you maintain appropriate levels of chlorine no algae can grow in the water, with or without phosphates. You have to have chlorine anyway, and chlorine alone is sufficient, so why waste time and money on phosphate remover?
Phos-Free removes phosphates from the water. If you get the phosphate level low enough, algae usually can't grow as it has nothing to eat. However there are forms of phosphate that are not removed by phos-free, so that is not guaranteed. Phosphate remover tends to cloud up the water. Ideally this clears up quickly, but for some people it can stay cloudy for days. Also, some areas add phosphates to the tap water, which can cause phosphate levels so high that getting the phosphate level low enough is impractical.
Of course algae isn't the only reason you need chlorine, as bacteria and viruses can do just fine even at extremely low phosphate levels. So you have to have chlorine anyway. If you maintain appropriate levels of chlorine no algae can grow in the water, with or without phosphates. You have to have chlorine anyway, and chlorine alone is sufficient, so why waste time and money on phosphate remover?
Here's just one lengthy thread about phosphates: phosphates-can-be-a-serious-problem-t16805.html?hilit=phosphatesTomAtlanta said:
The search box is your friend. If you look for others using the search box, you might want to limit it to thread titles only to keep the number of posts to only a few hundred.
Thanks for the link, and the suggestion on how to do a search. I have also been using google to search, adding troublefree pool to whatever I am searching for.
If you want to know whats in it, its Lanthanum, and the first element in the Lanthanide series of "rare-earth" metals, even though Lanthanum isn't rare.
And what it does it to precipitate lanthanum phosphate which is why it clouds pool water unless a clarifier is used (PhosFree supposedly has a clarifier in it for that reason). The precipitate will then get caught in the filter and have to be backwashed or cleaned. Lanthanum chemicals (usually lanthanum chloride or lanthanum carbonate) are expensive so if you have a lot of phosphate in the pool water, it can get expensive to remove.
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